In which I chronicle my adventures in solitaire Strat-O-Matic Baseball. Currently playing the Losers League, eight 90-plus loss teams from 1969 in a 154-game schedule.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Implications of the 20-man roster

There are three reasons behind the decision to use the 20-man rosters.

It's pretty much in line with roster sizes for the Negro League teams, the 19th Century teams, and even teams in the deadball era and during the Depression.

It limits the opportunities for oddball platoons — Hank Greenberg and Johnny Mize, for example. There'll still be some of that, but with just four reserve players, it's tough to run multiple platoons.

A number of teams couldn't use 10-man pitching staffs anyway.

Just as the current fad of 12- and 13-man pitching staffs have put a premium on versatile bench players, these constricted rosters will add value to certain multi-position players in this league. It will be my goal as I construct the rosters to have each position backed-up on each team.

Along the same lines, some pitchers are going to be more valuable than some superior pitchers because they are coded for relief work. This is particularly true among the Kennedys and the Garfields player lists, each of which contain a high percentage of starter-only pitchers.